IPL India's most-searched word on Google in 2020, Coronavirus second

Indian Premier League (IPL) has beaten Coronavirus to be India's most-searched word on Google in the year 2020, as per Google India's 'Year in Search' results released on December 9, 2020. 

This shows that more Indians searched for the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year than the deadly coronavirus pandemic. The popular cricket tournament had been postponed from its usual schedule this year due to the COVID outbreak. 

The BCCI decided to finally host it in the September- November window in the United Arab Emirates, shifting it out of India due to a spike in COVID-19 cases in the country. It was the first major cricket tournament to be held in a bio-bubble amid the pandemic, without a live audience. 

The tournament was fortunately successful due to the extreme COVID-19 safety measures undertaken to ensure the safety of the players and the supporting staff. It brought major relief to sports fans across the world, especially India, which is the world's biggest market for cricket. 

Google’s Top Trending Searches in India in 2020

1. Indian Premier League
2. Coronavirus
3. US Election Results
4. PM Kisan Yojana
5. Bihar Election Results

Top Trending Personalities in India 2020

1. Joe Biden
2. Arnab Goswami
3. Kanika Kapoor
4. Kim Jong Un
5. Amitabh Bachchan

Top Searches News Events in India in 2020

1. Indian Premier League
2. Coronavirus
3. US Presidential Elections
4. Nirbhaya Case
5. Beirut Explosion

Top Trending Movies of 2020

1. Dil Bechara
2. Soorarai
3. Tanhaji
4. Shakuntala Devi
5. Gunjan Saxena

Other Google searches in India were largely centred around ‘Near me’, ‘How to’ and ‘What is’ reflecting Indians’ concerns regarding work from home and their dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Top ‘Near Me’ Searches

1. Food Shelters near me
2. COVID test near me
3. Crackers shop near me
4. Liquor shops near me
5. Night shelter near me

Top ‘What is’ searches in India

1. What is Coronavirus
2. What is Binod
3. What is plasma therapy
4. What is COVID-19
5. What is CAA

Top ‘ How to’ Searches

1. How to make paneer
2. How to increase immunity
3. How to make dalgona coffee
4. How to link PAN card with aadhaar card
5. How to make sanitizer at home

Background

India had imposed the world's biggest complete lockdown towards the end of March, which continued till May. Restrictions were gradually eased in non-containment zones. 

Internationally, "Coronavirus" topped Google searches, followed by "Election results", and "Kobe Bryant".